{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T19:17:39Z","timestamp":1787944659518,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787875200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004488","name":"Croatian Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["IP-2022-10-8720"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["IP-2022-10-8720"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004488","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["IP-2022-10-8720"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["IP-2022-10-8720"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03n51vw80","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Ministry of Science, Education and Youth of the Republic of Croatia"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0507etz14","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100015391","name":"European Union\u2014NextGenerationEU","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["IP-UNIST-33"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["IP-UNIST-33"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100015391","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["IP-UNIST-33"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["IP-UNIST-33"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/019w4f821","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Genes"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) are a leading cause of pediatric kidney disease. Epithelial\u2013mesenchymal transition (EMT), governed by SNAI1 and TGF-\u03b2, and a vascular\u2013mesenchymal program marked by PECAM1 and VIM are central to nephrogenesis, but whether these programs are transcriptionally activated in human CAKUT is unknown. We assessed their expression and spatial organization in human fetal kidneys. Methods: We reanalyzed public transcriptomic datasets for six transcripts (SNAI1, TGFB1\u20133, PECAM1, VIM) and performed quantitative double immunofluorescence for four gene products (SNAIL, TGF-\u03b21, CD31, vimentin) on formalin-fixed human fetal kidneys (20 controls, 19 CAKUT), with colocalization quantified by Pearson\u2019s coefficient. Results: No statistically significant difference in transcript or protein abundance was detected between control and CAKUT kidneys, in either the cortex or the medulla, and abundance did not change across developmental phases. In contrast, spatial colocalization of SNAIL\u2013TGF-\u03b2 and of CD31\u2013vimentin was increased in CAKUT kidneys. Conclusions: These findings may suggest that, in human fetal CAKUT, EMT and vascular\u2013mesenchymal programs are not quantitatively upregulated but instead show altered spatial organization of otherwise unchanged gene products. As colocalization reflects spatial proximity rather than molecular interaction, these observations are correlative and warrant functional validation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/genes17091028","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T18:33:52Z","timestamp":1787942032000},"page":"1028","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Transcript- and Protein-Level Preservation and Spatial Reorganization of EMT and Vascular\u2013Mesenchymal Gene Programs (SNAI1, TGFB1, PECAM1, VIM) in Human Fetal Kidneys with Congenital Anomalies of the Kidney and Urinary Tract (CAKUT)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Lucija","family":"Bav\u010devi\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"FH Ober\u00f6sterreich Campus Wels, Bio- and Environmental Technology, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Roseggerstra\u00dfe 15, 4600 Wels, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Anita","family":"Racetin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, University of Split School of Medicine, \u0160oltanska 2A, 21000 Split, Croatia"},{"name":"Center for Translational Research in Biomedicine, University of Split School of Medicine, \u0160oltanska 2A, 21000 Split, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-6953-0135","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Petar","family":"Todorovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, University of Split School of Medicine, \u0160oltanska 2A, 21000 Split, Croatia"},{"name":"Center for Translational Research in Biomedicine, University of Split School of Medicine, \u0160oltanska 2A, 21000 Split, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6389-5604","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sandra","family":"Kosti\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, University of Split School of Medicine, \u0160oltanska 2A, 21000 Split, Croatia"},{"name":"Center for Translational Research in Biomedicine, University of Split School of Medicine, \u0160oltanska 2A, 21000 Split, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Sandra","family":"Zeki\u0107 Toma\u0161","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, Forensic Medicine and Cytology, University Hospital of Split, Spin\u010di\u0107eva 1, 21000 Split, Croatia"},{"name":"Department of Pathology, University of Split School of Medicine, \u0160oltanska 2, 21000 Split, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2182-2890","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Katarina","family":"Vukojevi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, University of Split School of Medicine, \u0160oltanska 2A, 21000 Split, Croatia"},{"name":"Center for Translational Research in Biomedicine, University of Split School of Medicine, \u0160oltanska 2A, 21000 Split, Croatia"},{"name":"Mediterranean Institute for Life Sciences (MedILS), University of Split, Me\u0161trovi\u0107evo \u0160etali\u0161te 45, 21000 Split, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6529-5474","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nela","family":"Kelam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, University of Split School of Medicine, \u0160oltanska 2A, 21000 Split, Croatia"},{"name":"Center for Translational Research in Biomedicine, University of Split School of Medicine, \u0160oltanska 2A, 21000 Split, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"720","DOI":"10.1038\/nrneph.2015.140","article-title":"Genetic, Environmental, and Epigenetic Factors Involved in CAKUT","volume":"11","author":"Nicolaou","year":"2015","journal-title":"Nat. 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